Another Day
by Pheonix Lake
Summary: It is roughly ten years after Rin is found by Sesshoumaru, and still Naraku is undefeated. Rin is learning new things about herself, and Sesshoumaru is confused of his feelings for Rin. [Side story of 'Kita and Saramaru'] Please R&R! Worth the read
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I tried to take Sesshy, but then they put me in a room, a round room, with corners… Wait, round rooms don't have corners, that's crazy! Crazy? I was crazy once…

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Alright, people, you may recognize quite a few of these characters from my and Clear Water's fanfic Kita and Saramaru. Know why know why? Because I love those characters and that is the plot I had an idea for. DEAL! Some of the information used in this fanfic is ahead of the information you have currently on Kita and Saramaru, merely because I help write it so I know more than you. You don't really need to know much of it though so I wont go into detail unless you ask, and then I will only divulge enough so that you will vaguely understand. ON WITH THE STORY!

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Another Day

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It had only been ten years, but still it made ten LONG years.

Naraku had almost been defeated, but still he roamed, reeking havoc over all he touched.

Rin liked to think there were three groups against the nasty hanyou, first being the Inu-group. This was led by the grouchy Inu-hanyou Inuyasha, the young miko Kagome, (who wore odd clothes), the demon-slayer Sango, a monk named Miroku, (of whom had a cursed hand, in more than one way.) The last two were Shippo, a young fox demon who had been orphaned by the Thunder Brothers and 'adopted' by Kagome, and Kirara, the fire demon cat belonging to Sango.

The second was a group led by Saramaru-sama, lady of the Eastern Lands and an Inu-Taiyoukai sorceress with amazing power and magical ability. These were coupled with her knack for acquiring mythological animals. Next in the line was Kita, a young human miko who is tutored, adopted, and cared for by Saramaru. Her mate is the dragon demon Rejime, son of the Northern Lord. Though Rin was not aware of it yet, third in line was Tisandor, who sought Saramaru's guidance and seemed to have a crush on Kita. He was a tiger demon, and heir to the Southern lands. Then came Nirro-ichi, Saramaru's loyal griffin friend, and Cirrus, the phoenix Saramaru had conjured from water and now followed the group. There were many horses that Saramaru had, some even powerful enough to be of some aid against Naraku, but Rin had never truly met the beasts.

Last but certainly not least was the group led by Sesshoumaru-Sama, powerful lord of the Western Lands and Inu-Taiyoukai. He was grudging brother to Inuyasha and cousin to Saramaru, and his followers were Jaken, an ugly toad demon who carried something called the staff of two heads. Next was Rin, a young human girl who had been orphaned by bandits and killed by wolves only to be revived by Lord Sesshoumaru's sword Tenseiga. And last of the following trio was Ah-Un, a two headed dragon whom provided a means of travel and sometimes defense and offense.

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Rin was brought out of her thoughts as a large smudge, accompanied by a smaller version appeared on the horizon, heading Northwards. She gasped in surprise at the unexpected sight, and looked to Lord Sesshoumaru, who had stopped to glance up nonchalantly at the passing figure. His expression was unreadable as always, and Rin found she could not bite down her curiosity.

"What is it, my lord?" Her easy voice reached his ears, and a stunning golden eye came to rest on her.

"Saramaru and Inuyasha are on the move." His brother's name was spat out as if it was disgusting trash, and he continued after a moment.

"That is Rejime," And with that, he turned, and continued to walk, his large strides forcing Rin to yank roughly on Ah-Un's reins to keep up. She skipped giddily after her lord, humming a tune from her younger years, and did not let the loud squawk Jaken let out bother her. The toad was currently flattened by one of Ah-Un's massive paws, and as the dragon walked on the toad jumped up with a rather fruitful string of curses.

* * *

Darkness fell silently and without warning, and Sesshoumaru stopped in a nice clearing filled with flowers. Rin dropped Ah-Un's reins and ran through the wildflowers, hearing Jaken grumble of unpredictable humans. She got down into the flowers and instantly began braiding some together, making a small bracelet that she fashioned to her wrist. The young girl's chocolate eyes widened and she squealed in delight at the sight of a welcoming hot springs. She looked back to Sesshoumaru to see that her stoic lord was looking the other way, observing the stars silently, and quickly she ran to the steaming water, dipping her toes in before taking her clothes off and sinking into the warm liquid. Jaken followed after her, knowing that if anything happened to her Sesshoumaru would have his head, and perched himself contently on a rock in the middle of the spring.

Sesshoumaru heard the girl splashing, and though he turned he kept his eyes pointedly away from her particular area, golden eyes going from the stars to gaze at the full moon. He pondered a moment on his cousin's last visit, the way she had seemed almost dead after ten years of getting used to her bubbly nature. She had shown him an ancient scroll, and had explained her problems with Naraku and just about everything else. He had given her answers as best he could, and soon after she had left, seemingly more content than before. His thoughts were interrupted by the scent of an impending argument, and thoughtlessly he looked in Rin and Jaken's direction. He was about to shield his eyes when he noticed that she was covered by the water, and so he listened intently.

"Jaken-sama, am I pretty?" The girl asked innocently, fluttering her eyelashes to further annoy the toad.

"Of course not! You are an ugly human who is too short and too skinny and your always covered in dirt!" He retorted pointedly, jabbing at her with his staff.

"Short! You're one to talk!" Rin exclaimed, getting up from the water with a flourish and punching him playfully on the head, shielding her eyes with an arm as he splashed into the water with a loud squawk.

Through all this Sesshoumaru allowed a small, fraction of a smile to appear on his lips as he listened to the argument. He was enjoying himself until Rin jumped up from the cover of the water, and he turned his head, bangs falling over his blinking eyes. He turned back to the moon as if he had not seen anything, expression completely unreadable.

'She has no modesty.' He growled in his mind; then quickly amended. No, he had just been looking. And even if she had no modesty, wouldn't that be his fault for keeping her away from her own kind? He scoffed, and turned his attention towards nothing in particular.

* * *

The bath had been over for quite some time, and so too had ended Rin's foraging. Her stomach full, though not overly so, she leaned against Ah-Un's curled form as she gazed up at the entrancing stars. Sesshoumaru was doing much the same against a tree only ten feet away, and for a moment she felt his intense gaze rest on her. Jaken's painfully loud snores interrupted the silent moment, and she growled in annoyance, hitting the toad sharply on the head. Though Jaken did not wake his irking sounds died down to silence again, and Rin smirked triumphantly, surprising Sesshoumaru by the expression's likeness to his own expression whenever he won. A small smirk traced it's way along his smooth lips and he looked away slowly, leaning his head against the tree and closing his eyes for a moment, though sleep did not reach him and did not seem as if it was even trying. Rin watched her lord's eyes close in slight disappointment, as she couldn't help but wish his golden gaze would be on her again, and sighed softly. She too, closed her eyes, and sleep which had evaded her master crashed in on her in an instant.

* * *

Young Rin awoke in the morning, her large earthen eyes blinking. Toothless smile was placed on her cracked lips as she got up quickly from the small run-down shack she had been sleeping in, and she scrambled outside to grab some good food to steal before too many villagers awoke. Knee deep in the village pond she grabbed at a fish, successfully holding on to the slimy wriggling thing as she struggled out of the pond. Footsteps alerted her to another's presence, and with silence she looked up to one of the village-man's angry faces.

"So it was YOU who was stealing the fish!" His angry announcement came, and she backed up a step only to collide with another man's legs as he gripped her roughly by the hair. She did not cry out, merely flinched as he pulled her up by said hair, holding her in the air as the other man neared.

"We have tolerated your presence long enough," The first man began with a wicked smirk, "But now it seems we cannot afford to feed you." With that said he offered her face a rough punch, watching as the tender skin began to bruise. They continued to beat her, and the whole while, though the young orphan girl flinched, no sound came out. Finally, after what seemed ages, the men stopped, and she stumbled off into the forest, only a few silent tears passing her eyes before she wiped them away. She couldn't wait to see the beautiful youkai lord in the forest. She knew she should be scared of him, but she couldn't help being entranced by his beauty instead. She tripped over a bothersome rot that seemed to snag her toes every time, and though she gritted her teeth she kept climbing up the gentle incline to see the white haired demon.

When the small girl arrived he was still propped up in the same place, the fluff on his shoulder still serving as a pillow.

Sesshoumaru regarded the toothless figure a moment, before closing his eyes again. She had bruises covering her face and arms, and in her hands was a clumsily cooked fish and a few wild mushrooms. As usual he discarded her offerings with a wave of his hand, and she merely placed it on the ground to kneel by his side.

"What happened to your face." It was a rhetorical question mostly, he didn't expect her to answer. After her second visit it had dawned upon him that she was mute, but by some odd thought he figured he might hear her voice soon.

The girl merely smiled a toothless grin at him, seemingly happy, and he quirked an eyebrow as her eyes closed. Why was she smiling? She was injured, and still she insisted on smiling. Soon after the girl got up and left, leaving her silly excuse for food beside him. She skipped back, seemingly content, and Sesshoumaru's eyes closed once more. After all, he needed his rest…

An hour later he awoke, feeling perfectly healthy again. He got up, inspecting his healed stump of an arm, and arranged himself. Ready to leave, he thought momentarily of the human girl, then brushed the thoughts way like a fly before leaving.

Young Rin whimpered as she ran as fast as her little legs would carry her, towards the youkai lord. Wolves followed after her, nipping at her heels experimentally, their blood lust evident in their eager whines and barks. Her excuse for a home had been devastated, every last living thing slaughtered, even the chickens, and it appeared she was next in line. She sobbed uncontrollably now as she felt her feet begin to stumble, exhaustion taking over her body's controls. There was that damned root, please kami let her scale it without fault! But god was not with her, for just as she reached it she did indeed stumble. She moaned and rolled onto her back, knowing it was over, and saw the wolves hungry expression as they loomed over her, awful saliva dripping onto her already sweat soaked body. She gasped and for the first time in two months found her voice to scream as without hesitation the creatures tore at her, ripping her to shreds. Her last though was of the beautiful youkai lord, white hair streaming behind him, before everything went dark.

* * *

Rin awoke, a cold sweat upon her features, and found Sesshoumaru staring at her, apparently alerted by her heightened heart beat and the smell of her fear. He looked away as she trembled uncontrollably, apparently content to allow her to think her way out of her fear. She had had that nightmare ever since she was a young child, ever since she died… With a shiver and a decisive expression she got up, and closed the space between herself and Sesshoumaru, her bed roll dragged behind her. He watched her from the corner of his eye, an eyebrow hidden under the expanse of his long silver bangs. She spread out her bedroll next to him, his folded legs only inches from her as she lay down. She sighed, her lords reassuring presence instantly calming her. Rin's hair fanned about her like a midnight curtain, as she looked at Sesshoumaru's likewise spread hair, fanning along his back. Her eyes began to close, and just as sleep found her again, a light smile traced her lips as she grabbed the pant leg around Sesshoumaru's knee, holding the fabric gently in her slender fingers, and muttered, "Good night, Sesshoumaru-Sama." Sesshoumaru was surprised to feel the fabric tighten around his leg, and looked down to hear Rin's muttered words. His eyes softened a moment, and he said quietly, "Good night, my Rin." He took the 'fluffy' off of his shoulder carefully and draped it over her, and watched her shoulder into the soft fur. Wait…

'MY RIN! WHERE IN ALL THE HELLS DID THAT COME FROM?' The rather disruptive though ran through his mind like a storm, and he blinked. He didn't really now where that came from, and a disgusted look crossed over his features. He would have to do something about his emotions…

* * *

Rin awoke, warm and comfortable, something soft and white in her hands. She blinked to clear her waking vision, and noticed that it was silk. Why was she holding white silk? The form of legs, folded neatly, was next taken in, and she struggled to look higher. Almost instantly, as she looked up, Lord Sesshoumaru's eyes popped open from their relaxed state, and the golden hue shocked her barely awakened eyes so much she closed them as if she as glaring to the sun. Still they were gazing at her as her own earthen colored eyes opened, and she sighed. Now… Why was she so warm? A tuft of white fur entered her vision as a slight breeze took up her bangs, and she realized fully now that it was the fur her lord wore around his shoulders! She slowly got up, relinquishing her hold on Sesshoumaru's pant leg as she did so. She fought the yawn that threatened to take over, knowing that Sesshoumaru considered it to be bad manners.

Jaken's annoying squawk arose into the air only too soon after as Sesshoumaru aimed a pebble at the toads head, hitting him square between the eyes. After all, Rin thought as she silently handed Sesshoumaru his fur back and nodded her thanks with a bright smile, he never missed. The toad grumbled as he set up camp, and Rin skipped off to look for a quick breakfast. She kneeled into a field of fresh flowers, unable to resist their waving stalks of color, and as she bent to sniff each different specimen, she noticed everything becoming dizzy. She blinked, trying to fight off what seemed like sleep, and a dull pain, from far away, entered her shoulder as her hands dropped from a pedal to her side, her eyes suddenly getting a good look at the sky. A flash of black, next white, and a furious yell; and everything went black, gentle warmth surrounding her for the second time in hardly fifteen minutes.

Sesshoumaru could smell it, a spell on the air. It had reminded him immediately of one and only one person, his sorceress cousin, but he knew it was not her. She was traveling; he mused, and curiously got up, fixing the fur on his shoulder securely. He walked steadily towards the crackle of power. A shocked expression came as he entered the field, Rin's scent heavy here, and saw the girl kneel backwards and plop into the grass like a lifeless doll as violet light lashed out towards her. A black cloaked figure was leaning over her, the cause of all the energy and purple lighting, claws extending from the wide sleeves towards Rin's throat in slow motion. With a yell of fury Sesshoumaru leapt forth, faster than any mortal eye could see and faster than even most demons could detect, and his hard fist made contact with the face underneath the hood. The creature, whatever it was, fell back with a pained cry, blood falling free from its nostrils. Sesshoumaru stood protectively before Rin, eyes calm, fist unclenched to make him appear as if he were in a rather boring conversation.

"Show yourself." His calm, cool voice bit through the tension like a sharp sword, and the creature gurgled unpleasantly, lifting it's ugly head. Sesshoumaru's recognized the pink skin at once, belonging to the most disgusting, sniveling bastard who had ever set foot in the lands of all Japan. A man from the middle, he had called himself, and had tried immediately to unseat Saramaru from her Ladyship. He had magical abilities, great ones, by most standards, and five years ago, he had made the unbearable mistake of turning them towards Saramaru.

The demoness had, with great fun it seemed, laughingly told him to leave, her power enthralled into her voice to compel him to do so in a powerful spell. The man had bowed and complied with an odd grin on his face, and Sesshoumaru had not seen him since. That day had been one of the few that Lords and Ladies from all around Japan came to negotiate treaties. It was there the pink skinned wretch had burst through Sesshoumaru's doors (As everyone knows it is the most favored to have conversation, being the strongest empire), demanding to speak with Saramaru privately. The demoness had insisted wisely that anything to be said could be before her cousin and fellow lords, and the man had laughably demanded that she become his mate, so that a greater power could rule. Power had been in his voice, too, but it had been only a minor fraction of Saramaru's magical ability. Sesshoumaru had been fully content to watch with morbid satisfaction how his cousin would deal against the spell, and had seen her dispel the haze without even a minor movement of the hand. She had smote it completely. But, now filled to his full of information about the disgusting excuse for a demon standing in front of him, Sesshoumaru hardened his golden gaze.

"I am saddened you do not remember me, oh high and mighty one." The halting, distasteful voice of the unknown demon entered Sesshoumaru's sensitive ears, and Sesshoumaru fought to ignore it. He realized then, that this thing was trying to set a spell upon him, and fought anger until something struck him.

Had Sesshoumaru wished to degrade himself, why, he wouldn't have laughed! But as it was, he smirked. So THIS is why Saramaru had needed no customary hand motions, or had even twitched in concentration or hardened her gaze! The spell was so feeble you could dispel it as you would a small nightmare.

"I have no reason to remember something so vile." Came the Western Lord's reply as he stared evenly at the demon before him.

"Why, I am a simple begger, residing in your lands… Being a demon myself, mind you, I look at this little thing, you're only liability, if I've heard, and wonder how much she will weaken us! Already humans ruin the great dogs all around, your father… You." Sesshoumaru bristled at the rogue's words, anger that the demon could suggest such a thing of a human girl having power over Sesshoumaru angering him almost to the point of not control.

But instead, a calm string of words left the taiyoukai's mouth.

"She has no power over me." He stated simply, eyes narrowing.

"What a bad liar, proud lord. Without her by your side you could rule the Western Lands freely, without the scorn of your fellows for adopting such a despicable thing as your companionship, your ward, and your dirty whore! Just like your cousin adopted her own blonde haired wretch." He lifted his lip in utter disgust, and a slow, steady growl began to rise from Sesshoumaru's chest.

"She is not a whore." His words were utterly calm, but inside he raged, willing oh so greatly to tear this thing apart for its insolence.

"No matter, she's already dying." The horrible thing shrugged, and with a cackle, added, "And now I will kill YOU, demon lord, and take the Western Lands for my OWN!" He slashed forward with a surprising speed for one seemingly so weak, and Sesshoumaru growled as he was forced to grab Rin with his only arm, jumping into the air with her and away from the demon's clutches. The girl's heart rate was excruciatingly slow, but Sesshoumaru was forced to bite back his worry and leave her behind a bush, quickly stepping out and away to face his enemy properly. The thing was cackling in a rough voice, staring off into some deep part of the forest. Sesshoumaru looked up, a familiar smell wafting upon the air… And his eyes widened.

He had been taught to expect many things, and this lesson he took with him everywhere, but what was before him he had never expected at this moment! The great white dog was bearing down upon them angrily, red eyes narrowed imperiously. A small group of followers gripped the animal's fur, a black haired woman with odd clothes, a red clothed hanyou, a demon slayer, and a monk, all prepared to do battle. Sesshoumaru instantly recognized his cousin, brother, brother's mate, and the two other human groupies. Another shadow then a figure, Rejime of the North, his mate, a face Sesshoumaru barely recognized, Tisandor of the South, and Niiro-ichi, the red griffin. All of this was taken in within moments, and Sesshoumaru also added to his quick study that Kagome was pointing and shouting something to Inuyasha.

"He's the one casting the spell!" She yelled to the hanyou, who nodded and jumped down, followed by the others. Though the clearing wasn't small by any means, Saramaru found her transformed state was quite an unruly dream to be held within its depths, and quickly the white dog vanished to be replaced by a near twin to Sesshoumaru. Except a full moon adorned her head, her stripes of the color blue, as was the shoulder of her yukata. She barked frustratingly at Inuyasha, "He's a magic wielder, why do you think the damn thing's in his hand? He would merely block the Tetsusaiga!" She was immediately at Sesshoumaru's side, both Taiyoukai silently communicating their agreement; Saramaru would have to work on this one. Sesshoumaru didn't like the idea, but soon he was caught up in a rather different, even MORE irking battle.

"Why the hell is the bastard here!" Inuyasha barked, quite literally, glaring at Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru, for once, ignored his half brother, turning instead to walk to Rin. Kita trembled as she stood behind Rejime, staring at the Western Lord quite rudely. She would never get used to him! But her blue eyes widened as she noticed a crumpled form in the grass, and she quickly charged to Rin's side. The girl was out cold, and now Kita knew the cause of the spell that had dragged them here. Rin was stuck in a coma, and Kita sighed. Saramaru had not taught her in this magic, and had warned her of the dangers willing could do! Her blonde hair fell into her face as she leaned over Rin, futilely shaking the girl.

Sesshoumaru watched silently, calm exterior giving no clues to his inner turmoil. His charge's breathing was so short and slow, and he gritted his teeth to keep from frowning.

* * *

Rin ran as fast as she could, but motion seemed beyond her as the monsters came up behind her, tearing into her skin.

'Where is my lord?' Her weak mind screamed, but when she tried to open her mouth, nothing came out.

'HELP ME!'

* * *

Pheonix: That tis is for now, please R&R! 


	2. Wasteland

Pheonix: Ah! You people make me so happy!

vino-chan – Thank you so much! Not all of these original characters are mine, in fact the only one that is FULLY mine is Saramaru. The rest were helped along, and some even fully created, by Clear Waters, or cyclonegal12. But I'm glad you like them, and I will tell her for you. Just because of you I'll reply extra quick!

icygirl2 – Thank you! I rather liked it too, which is the only reason why I put it up. - XD Yes yes, soon soon! If any of you guys want to get a hold of me off of FF my AIM is Pheonixlake145 I don't mind msgs!

Disclaimer: I have scabs from where Sesshoumaru clawed to get away from me… It hurt… And now they have me in this round room and I'm counting the buckles on this weird white coat that makes it really hard to type!

English – I do not own Inuyasha.

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'HELP ME!'

Rin screamed at the top of her lungs as her eyes glazed with pain. Her body jerked and she fell, for the first time noticing her surroundings as her face was shoved into them. Dry dirt entered her mouth and she coughed, leaning up. The monsters were gone, and she shivered, rubbing her arms together.

"Lord Sesshoumaru…" She sighed, knowing he would come for her soon. Taking a closer look now, her earthen colored eyes widened. There were corpses everywhere! Hanging off of trees, sticking from the ground, not to mention the wooden crosses and mounds of dry earth she could see. Bile ran up her throat, and she gagged, trying to keep from throwing up. For a few moments she sat, stunned to silence, when something warm made contact with her hands. Rin looked down, and screamed. Blood was running out of every crevice, every place where hair sprouted was now sprouting crimson blood. Her scream died down as she instantaneously fell into a dead faint.

* * *

Sesshoumaru's brilliant golden gaze flashed as Rin screamed 'help me' and squirmed, trying to free herself from Kita's grasp, or so it seemed. Kita fought the tears at seeing her friend in such great mental distress. The sounds of an ending battle were heard, and Saramaru's quick feet, in human form and wrapped in the same fixture as Sesshoumaru's, carried the demoness to Kita. Rin was now muttering something, and the demoness leaned closer in time to hear the ending syllables of Sesshoumaru's name leave the girl's lips. It was obvious now to the outside world that Rin was in great mental disarray.

Saramaru pushed Kita gently out of the way, and the blonde girl snapped out of her daze to rush into Rejime's surprised yet open arms, sniffling as she tried to keep from crying. Saramaru placed her elegant hand on Rin's forehead, and pulled back quickly, her mouth open in a small scream, before Rin's mouth opened to finish the sound.

"Sorry," Saramaru murmured. "It's not good to touch someone while their subconscious is about to cause them physical distress such as that…" She placed her hand on Rin's forehead once more, and muttered, "Her subconscious is asleep…" She delved further, and finally with a disgusted look she pulled her hand away.

"He's trapped her mind in a subconscious hell. I can't reach her right now, she's too far away." She growled with annoyance, and gave Sesshoumaru a sympathetic glance. He reached for Tenseiga, but Saramaru shook her head.  
"Think, cousin, how could that possibly help her?" She shook her head again. "It will take me days, and I do not know what will happen to her during that time, but it is our only hope that I can find a spell to cure this… This monstrosity of a curse." She hadn't told them the full extent of the possible damage, but it was only because she was not yet sure. Sesshoumaru said nothing, merely allowed his hand to fall to his side. Inuyasha's ears twitched as he watched Kita, and Kagome grabbed her mate's hand, knowing that he too felt bad for Rin, even though he wasn't about to admit it any time soon.

Miroku also felt bad, because for once his 'cursed' hand was not straying to close to a certain demon-slayer's behind.

"Saramaru." Sesshoumaru's assertive voice rang loud in everyone's head as he gained effectively the attention of his elder cousin.

"You are going to tell me that I need to stay with you and heal your charge at your palace, correct?" Saramaru said, raising a thin eyebrow.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was." Sesshoumaru said in an almost bored tone, hoping to hide his inner turmoil.

"Of course!" His cousin said, picking up the limp raven haired girl in her slim but powerful arms. She looked to Sesshoumaru, who looked as if he was ready to kill his cousin if she didn't hand the girl over.

"Can you?" It was the wrong thing for the sorceress to say, and suddenly Sesshoumaru's long arm shot out to the tiny form of Rin. Though the girl had grown into a young woman, Sesshoumaru still towered over her, at least a few feet difference. His arm slid around her, and Saramaru unconsciously helped him fit the girl comfortably into the crook of his neck and his arm.

"Yes, I can." He glared at her pointedly for a moment, then stalked off, knowing the demoness would follow. Saramaru looked to the others, mouthed to them to 'go home', which of course meant here Eastern Palace, and walked after him quickly to catch up with his large stride.

"I could-" She began, but was cut off by Sesshoumaru's curt voice.

"Do it." He ordered, and Saramaru bit her lip, knowing her younger cousin's mental strife. She clicked her claws together for emphasis of her discomfort from his ordering tone, a small gesture to remind him of her elder status, and a blue orb appeared around them. Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth as Saramaru 'put him in his place', knowing that he often was more mature than the demoness, but allowed them to travel at normally death defying speeds to his castle.

As they reached the rather simple castle, the blue orb around them disappeared, and Saramaru opened the door for Sesshoumaru. The taiyoukai stalked in, and quickly made his way to his chambers, motioning Saramaru to follow.

"I want her to recover here." He stated.

"But isn't this YOUR bed, Sesshoumaru?" Saramaru asked curiously.

"Please do not challenge my word, Cousin." Was his only reply as he lay the girl down gently on his bed, pulling the covers up to her pale chin. Immediately Saramaru snapped her fingers, and a scroll appeared. Sesshoumaru sat beside Rin on the bed, his arm resting in his lap as he stared at the girl vigilantly. Saramaru plopped down on the floor, eyes intently fixed upon the scroll.

Part of the scroll was ripped, and Saramaru could tell instantly that it was old. The name of the curse she had pulled up to investigate was blank, suggesting that none had been given, and so she read on.

_A deadly curse, this is intended to permanently impair the victim in their subconscious, leaving them vulnerable to mental pain, physical torment induced by a realistic mental signal, and permanent trauma. There has only been one case where the victim was able to be revived, and then the man whom had been revived threw himself into the strong river current, drowning. Little is known about this curse, except that only a sorcerer or sorceress with immense power can cast it effectively. _

This made Saramaru feel a bittersweet moment. That was where the scroll ripped, and though it left her lost as to how exactly she would fix the problem, it did make her feel better about the 'immense power' tidbit. She surely had more power than that mediocre sorceress from earlier! She looked to Sesshoumaru, whose golden gaze rested intently on her.

"I should be able to revive her, and keep her from…" She trailed off suddenly, unsure if she really wanted to finish that sentence. But when Sesshoumaru gave her a look that plainly said to go on, she sighed.

"And keep her from goin' crazy." A little bit of slang caught from years traveling and hunting with Inuyasha spilled into her sentence, and she heard Sesshoumaru's growl at the word. He really didn't like improper speech.

"Sorry…" She whispered, looking back down at her scroll and snapped her fingers, the aged, cracked parchment disappearing from her lap instantly.

* * *

Rin screamed when she woke up, then her mind was silent a moment. She was in the same field, but at least the blood on her hands was no longer there. She pondered over it for a moment, turning around each hand, inspecting it carefully. It was as if her own blood had disappeared! She shrugged it off, looking around.

"Lord Sesshoumaru still has not come for this Rin…" She said in a scared voice. She always reverted to her child way of speaking when frightened, and this was definitely one of those times. The seeds if doubt now planted, she sighed, silent tears falling from her lashes.

She had always known Sesshoumaru had never liked humans, but did this mean he did not care for her? All those wishes she had placed, the ideals and dreams she had nurtured, dreams of one day… No, she mustn't doubt now! Her lord would come and save her, surely! She whimpered and hugged her knees, curling into a fetal position.

* * *

Sesshoumaru watched as, days after Saramaru had announced her confidence in bringing the girl back, Rin let out a silent sob and muttered something. His keen ears picked it up immediately, and he blinked with surprise.

'I'm trying…' He thought, as if he was thought speaking to his cousin, but it obviously did not get through for the girl began to weep silently. Frustration curled into his golden eyes and his fist clenched. He wished he could be the one to save her, he wished he had the magical abilities instead of his cousin so he could save his Rin.

There it was, that thought again. His Rin. What did that mean? Why was it continuously shoving its way into his normally organized head? It sought to haunt him, he decided finally. His own mind had turned the enemy!

'Just likes Rin's has turned hers.' He sighed, ignoring Saramaru's gaze as she heard the exhale of air, and he reached out to grab Rin's hand. The girl had curled into the fetal position, and he pried her from it, careful not to hurt her with his sharp claws as his long fingers curled over her small hand. Saramaru smiled gently at the scene, and took Rin's other hand, ready to begin.

Saramaru began to mutter incoherent words that Sesshoumaru had no hope of understanding, and Rin convulsed slightly after about the fifth word. Saramaru winced at the sight but her muttering did not falter, and her hand began to glow blue as it encircled Rin's. Sesshoumaru's hand tightened slightly and his gaze intensified, as he would NOT close his eyes. He had seen much worse than a young human convulsing!

'So why does it hurt me so to see Rin in such pain?' Stop! He reprimanded his mind instantly. Stop questioning yourself!

Unbeknownst to Sesshoumaru's new found source of confusion Saramaru's spell kept up its quick work, and soon Rin's convulsions became gentler, finally stopping. Saramaru brought her hand away and readied herself for what was supposed to come next.

A horrible scream came from the raven haired teenager as her earthen eyes opened in a flash, and she tried to wrench her hand away from Sesshoumaru's grasp.

"Rin!" Sesshoumaru yelled in mock anger, as it had always worked before, and her scream turned into a pitiful wail as she again tried to wrench herself free.

"Stop this now!" He ordered, and Rin, for once, was still as her shocked, scared eyes fluttered to meet his. Was it…? Was it him?

"L-… Lord S-Sesshoumaru…" She trembled, and much to Saramaru's surprise, the girl launched herself into Sesshoumaru, her body wracked with sobs.

"Rin thought you'd never come for her!" She wailed into his shoulder as his wide eyes blinked. This is when Rin made a revelation, for bad or good unknown. But Lord Sesshoumaru hadn't come for her! He had left Rin to die in that wasteland!

"But…" She pulled herself away now roughly, and stared into his golden eyes with her own shocked, wide ones.

"But he didn't come for Rin, did he?" She asked, tears welling. Sesshoumaru stumbled around for words to find, and finally he said, "Rin-"

"Lord Sesshoumaru didn't come for Rin!" She wailed painfully, stumbling to her feet and straight into Saramaru's strong arms, where the demoness held her still as the girl tried to struggle free.

"He did!" The tall silver haired woman hissed as Rin, in her efforts, hit her stomach.

"Why the hell do you think I'm here! RIN!" She yelled, eyes flashing as she grabbed the girl's wrists, her hands immediately turning blue. Sesshoumaru was on his feet, watching with narrowed golden eyes. Rin seemed immediately calmed, and Saramaru let go, saying softly into the girls ear, "He came for you, Rin, he did all he could. You were locking inside here, see?" She put a finger to Rin's head gently, the tip glowing blue as she rearranged the young girls mind so it would not be clouded by illusions she may have gathered in her time spent in her own mind.

Rin sighed and the light glaze that had been over her eyes disappeared, leaving her vision clear.

"Sesshoumaru-sama came for Rin, by sending Saramaru-sama for Rin, because he couldn't follow her?" She asked curiously.

"Yes, Rin, that is how he came for you." Saramaru nodded her head firmly.

"Rin sees…"

* * *

The girl had fainted from complete exhaustion after those uttered words, and now two days had passed with her peaceful breathing filling Sesshoumaru's entire thoughts. He still sat beside her, still on his bed, and his eyes slowly began to droop. A good week without sleep could do that, even to a demon. Then, a small sigh was heard, and his golden eyes were awake in an instant, taking in Rin's features as she awoke.

Where was she? In… This was Lord Sesshoumaru's room! No, it was too much to hope that… Crashing back to reality she remembered her ordeal, and moaned, grabbing her suddenly aching head. She then noticed the hand, long fingers splayed out, near her head, and her eyes followed up the arm all the way to Sesshoumaru's golden eyes. The demon was leaning on his arm, gazing at her from his turned head.

"Hello, Sesshoumaru, good morning." She smiled softly, remembering that he HAD, in his only possible way, come to get her.

"You did save me." She smiled softly, closing her eyes for a moment.

Slightly uncomfortable, Sesshoumaru nodded his head, and then said, noticing her eyes were closed, "Yes." His voice was tired, and he leaned against the back of the bed, leaning his head back. Rin blinked as a few locks of long, silver hair fell over her face, and she giggled, taking hold of it. It appeared that something had happened, Sesshoumaru decided as he ignored her playing with his hair, for she seemed as if an eight year old once more.

"Rin."

"Yes, milord?"

"What happened?"

Slightly surprised with her lords sudden questioning, Rin dropped the lock of hair she had been twiddling around her finger. Ah, Sesshoumaru thought, it had been a cover up for her inner feelings to act so young again.

"My lord, does it really matter?"

"Yes."

"Well then…" She began slightly hesitantly, and grabbed on to his hair again as if for comfort as she began her tale.

"Rin was running, from monsters. They cut into Rin's skin, making her bleed badly. Then I tripped, like with the wolves… before… I began to cry, and when she raised her eyes, there were dead bodies surrounding Rin! Rin stopped herself from throwing up, then her hands began bleeding! That is when Rin screamed and fainted." Did he want to know the rest?

"Is that all?" Sesshoumaru asked in an even tone.

"Rin remembers doubting that milord would come to save Rin. But Rin should not have doubted." She said finally, after quite a moment of pause. Sesshoumaru listened to her story, then lowered himself onto the bed.

"Milord?" Rin asked unsurely.

"Just go back to bed, Rin." He growled, obviously touchy after such a lack of sleep, and his golden eyes closed. Rin blinked a moment and stifled a yawn before curling up beside him, looking up at the wall as her ear pressed against the side of his chest, hearing the soft heart beat from within. She could tell her lord was sleeping when it slowed, and she smiled happily. How could she have ever doubted her savior? He would never leave her in danger.

* * *

Rin awoke to a rather awkward position. Her lord's arm was underneath her, holding her tightly, but not uncomfortably, against his chest, which was gently rising and falling with each sleeping breath he took. His armor had been removed, and his hair fell about them like a curtain, shielding them from the world. Why was her lord holding her so? Had this happened in their sleep? Confused, but definitely not unhappy, Rin snuggled into the crook of his arm, sighing happily.

It was only a few minutes, perhaps half of an hour? That she stayed in his arms, but it felt as if it was a lifetime of comfort and protection. But then, all went into literally discord.

"Milord?" Came the toad servant's voice from down the hall as little feet pattered towards the sliding door.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Jaken's voice again, and Rin groaned softly into the side of Sesshoumaru's chest, instantly and mistakenly waking up her lord. He twitched, as apparently she must have touched a sensitive spot when she tried to hide her face in his side, and grimaced.

"Jaken…" He muttered, too quiet for Rin's human ears, and did not have time to sit up before the door opened.

"Lady Saramaru-" Jaken's voice stuttered then stopped as the toad gawked at the scene before him. Had his lord! Was he really seeing what he thought he was seeing!

"MILORD!" Jaken's surprised, perturbed voice rang loud and clear, as he bowed repeatedly.

"This humble servant did not wish to disturb such a personal moment-"

"Jaken…"

"And he is very sorry for any disturbance to the intercourse-"

"JAKEN…"

"And he will only wish to tell you that-"

"JAKEN!" Sesshoumaru roared finally, sitting up, Rin being pulled up with him. Somehow Sesshoumaru managed to find something throw-able, and he hurled it at Jaken, who squawked and ran out as fast as his stubby legs would carry him. Sesshoumaru growled his displeasure, finally falling back into the pillows and dragging Rin with him.

"Why the hell did I get a TOAD following me around!" His voice was angry but it was in no way loud, as Rin barely heard it. She rearranged herself, her once comfortable position now marred from being pulled up and down again. Jaken's feet could still be heard, and she listened to them disappear.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, you may unhand me." She said, unsure of why he had been holding her in the first place. Her lord must indeed have been tired, because he blinked in surprise and looked at her, as if he had not known he had been dragging her around for the past ten moments.

He murmured something, rubbing the bridge of his nose with the hand he had just released Rin from.

Rin pulled the blankets up over her chin, now realizing how much warmer she had been against Sesshoumaru, and shivered slightly.

"That was odd…" She muttered, looking to the ceiling. There was no reply. She looked over, and again, Sesshoumaru was sleeping. Only a light doze, for his eyes flickered once or twice, but a sleep nonetheless. She looked at the sun, and assumed that they had only been sleeping for a few hours. Just looking at her lord made her feel the symptoms of sleep again, and although she didn't curl up beside him this time, she was near enough to grab some of his hair and twine it around her fingers, now sighing happily.

* * *

Two days later, Rin knelt in her spring garden, humming softly to herself. It had been two days since her night with Sesshoumaru, and she had made a full mental recovery, as well as physically, for they found that small cuts had appeared on her arms, where she had originally seen the blood. Jaken had finally given his full message and been enlightened on the reason of Rin's sleeping in Sesshoumaru's bed, the story accented with a few good kicks to the head to get the message through. Sesshoumaru had been very agitated afterwards, hearing that Saramaru had left while they slept, leaving a little painting that she had made with magic for him. He had not let Rin see it, had merely put it inside one of the drawers of his study desk and left her to wonder. Rin smiled softly, and planted her last rose seed. She had plenty of the ruby flowers in her garden, but they were her favorites. Beautiful and dangerous, with their prickly thorns. When she was young, she would catch herself on one, and smelling the blood, Sesshoumaru would run to her aid, getting angry when he found out that it had been flowers that had caused her blood to fall. She laughed and had told him it hadn't hurt that badly, and he had plopped down and watched her the rest of the day, growling when she came too close to the flowers.

Footsteps were heard behind her, soft, and she turned back, raven hair splaying around her hands where they helped her balance.

"Lord Sesshoumaru." She announced her knowledge of his presence as he sat on a bench. He acknowledged her by a mere nod of his head, and watched her closely. She tried to go back to her seeds and soil, her usual pastime, but found it hard with his gaze boring into the back of her neck. Finally she got up and walked back, joining him in the small bench.

"Rin."

"What is it, milord? Does something trouble you?" Rin's light voice was brimming with curiosity as she gazed intently to Sesshoumaru.

"You are to go live in the human village."

* * *

Pheonix: A bit shorter than the last one by about 400 words, but I wanted to leave it at an evil cliffy! I know, I know, mean, but it'll leave you wanting more, trust me. Besides, I couldn't wait to get this out! The more updates, the more time it has on the board for people to see it. (Don't even try telling me that you guys look at stuff updated a month ago.)

Saramaru: What if they do?

Pheonix: Then they wont tell me because I told them not to.

Saramaru: well you always tell me not to annoy Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru but that never helps.

Pheonix: I made you, I play you, I'll do what I want! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! R&R!


	3. Confusion and the Plot

Pheonix: (sobs) I feel SO loved!

Disclaimer – Last night I woke up in my round room with all the corners, and it was a miracle! I had this legal paper that said Inuyasha now belonged to me, and I was surrounded by Sesshy, Inu, and everyone else!

BUT THEN I WOKE UP! And I'll tell you. Them giving my pills for breakfast is NOT cool. (XD)

Icygirl2 – XD I'm glad you liked it so much! and he did it for many reasons, partly because he is a lost puppy XD (not really, you know what I mean…)

Cyclonegal12 – yay! I almost pulled a perfect sess! Oh well, I needed the drama in there, made it a bit entertaining thankies!

Vino-chan – sweet! Fluffy bed part is so awesomeness, as I said in my reply I was tired when I wrote that lol, thanks for the review and I'll keep up my good work for you guys!

Oh yes! AND now that I remember that I am supposed to be rating each and every single chapter because I'm a sped, this chapter will be rated PG-13 for slight violence, swears and sexual hints. (I'll try to write in a warning before that happens if you wanna skip through any of that, but I doubt you will )

* * *

_"You are to go live in the human village."_ Sesshoumaru said, his tone bland, but golden eyes swirling with emotion. 

Rin might have noticed it, but she was too busy controlling the sudden wave of shock. The human village? But why?

"Milord-"

"You will leave tomorrow." Sesshoumaru said, not looked at her. He didn't want to do it… but…

'Then why do I?' He shoved the thought away with a growl, and heard Rin whimper, as she obviously thought the sound was directed at her.

"You might want to start packing." What was getti8ng under his skin so! He was sending her away, why was that such a big deal for him? He ignored her sniffling as he walked from the garden, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Rin's lip trembled. Humans… But why! She whimpered. Why was her lord doing this to her? Why had he growled at her? She gripped her head, the weakness that had hindered her still since her coma washing over her, and she sobbed, one painful sob, and only one. Then her gaze hardened. It didn't matter now that he had come for her! He was just going to throw her away! Anger welled up in her earthen orbs, and drawing herself to her feet, she stomped off to get her clothing. If he hated her so much, why did it bother her to leave?

* * *

Sesshoumaru sighed and dropped onto a cushion in his study, throwing a few scrolls off of the small table before him in his annoyance. He had held Rin, a human girl, in his arms, in his BED, him! And he had enjoyed it. Rin had to leave. That demon was right, she was corrupting him and making him weak, and it was unfair to keep her here. This was best, for everyone. She'd get used to it, right? 

Yet something in his heart told him that she would never forget. He could hear her packing, from two halls difference, could hear her sniffles and hear her angrily ruffling through her belongings. Why did this have to be so hard?

* * *

The next day, after a horrible nightmare and a horrible morning, Rin walked out into the courtyard to be brought to the nearest human village. Fifty miles. It sounded more like two-hundred. She shuddered and walked over to Ah-Un and Jaken. Both were somber, and held saddened expressions. Jaken didn't even yell at her for packing her bag so messily, or scold her for not cleaning her face properly (it was tearstained, and Rin had been too upset to clean up the salty tears.) 

"Come, Ah-Un." Jaken said, as he sat in front of Rin on the dragon, his voice less more scratchy then usual. The dragon hesitantly lifted into the air, ears droopy, and flew rather slowly away. Rin took a last glance at her former home, silent tears spilling down, and caught a glimpse of Sesshoumaru standing on the balcony to his bedroom door, staring at her as she left. Her grip on her belongings tightened, and with a rigid neck she turned away. Her mind was so numb, that it's rather worthless to say anything that she was thinking, although it ran somewhere along the lines of 'Why… Why…' and that's about it.

* * *

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as Rin looked back, and slowly turned, going back into his bedroom. Good, now that that distraction was gone maybe he could get back to his real life! Ten years he had wasted, and now he had to make up for the loss. It took him fifty minutes to make his decision, and finally he left his room, walking towards his study. He walked past Rin's now vacant room, and tightened his hand into a fist, walking determinedly past it. He would never need to enter that room again. Why did that thought bother him more than he already was? He had sent Rin away to make both of them happy. And now she hadn't been gone longer than an hour and already he was displeased.

* * *

The small trio landed in a clearing none too far away from the village, now realizing that they had said absolutely nothing during the whole ride. Rin's small sniffles had been the only thing that had filled their ears, and that had been worse than anything anyone could have said. Rin dismounted from Ah-Un's scaled back, giving him an affectionate pat. Jaken jumped down, and looked up at Rin with a gray look. Rin bit her lip, and finally scooped him up into a hug, shutting her eyes and trying to breath through the block in her throat. Jaken tried to free himself at first, but finally he frowned and gave her an awkward pat on the back. Finally, Rin released him, offering a teary smile, and Jaken gave her a stern look. 

"Good bye Rin." He said, turning around before he got too emotional, and climbed back on Ah-Un. The dragon snorted softly at the girl before he was told to fly back to the western lands, and he swished his tail at Jaken before climbing into the sky. Rin stared up at them, and finally, she let out her pained wail. She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands.

"Why, Lord Sesshoumaru?" She choked out between sobs, any anger that she may have felt yesterday completely gone. She kneeled there in the meadow for a long time, so long that she lost track, her body trembling with sobs that she tried desperately to contain. Her lord had left her here, to be tormented by her own kind, the kind that had deceived her and treated her horribly as a child. She couldn't believe it. A small yell, and a fit of laughter finally aroused her from her misery, and she looked up, wiping her red cheeks with a hand. Two small children ran into the clearing, chasing a butterfly. When they noticed her, they stopped and stared, dumbstruck, then the braver of the two came forward.

"It's a young lady," He whispered, motioning the little girl behind him to come forward.

"She's not a demon…" He assured his more timid companion finally as he stopped in front of Rin, and his little eyebrows knotted together in confusion.

"Why are you sad, pretty lady?" He asked, reaching out with a small, chubby hand to poke gently at her tear stained cheeks. Rin couldn't help but smile as the other girl came up and echoed his question, though she did not reach out.

"No reason," She managed, as she again reached up to wipe at her cheeks. The boy gave her an incredulous look, but shrugged it off.

"Are you hungry?" The girl asked, her voice shy and quiet. Rin was about to shake her head when her stomach growled. "Well, heh, I guess so…" She murmured, getting up. The boy grinned and grabbed onto Rin's free hand, saying happily, "You can stay with us; mother and father will take good care of you! There is a priestess that visits our village; maybe she would be able to help you, whatever is wrong…" As he kept explaining about their village, how they had all been saved from some epidemic by this priestess and another odd lady, Rin became lost in her thoughts. Priestess… Kita acted as a priestess just like this one that the boy was talking about! Maybe she would see Kita! Rin smiled slightly, barely upturning her lips, and as the boy saw this he grinned as well. Good, at least she wasn't TOO sad anymore.

As they reached the village, Rin sighed. It was large for a village, with moderate buildings, signifying decent wealth. A few dogs ran around with each other, making Rin shiver, but the children led them past to a large house. This must be the headman's house, for it was the largest. They eagerly brought Rin right in, yelling for their parents. A middle-aged couple appeared, smiling.

"Oh, a visitor!" The woman exclaimed, shooting her husband a stern look that obviously said 'be nice'. She bustled forth, looking Rin up and down. It was obvious the girl had not been homeless, for she was well clothed and wasn't nearly as dirty as most girls in the village. "This is Shino and Akiro," She pointed first to the boy then the girl, "And this is my husband, Haku. I am Ayami, the lady of the house." She offered Rin a warm smile. "And you are?"

Rin shifted uncomfortably under the woman's warm yet heavy gaze, and said finally, "My name is Rin," and as she remembered her manners, "It is a pleasure to meet you." Her voice was very quiet, and she could see Haku leaning forward to catch what she said.

"It is very nice to meet you as well, young one." The woman, Ayami, smiled brighter. "Are you hungry?" Rin nodded sheepishly. Shiro piped up, "Rin is going to stay with us!" His mother laughed, and looked to Rin. "Did he put you up to this?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Sort of," Rin said, shrugging ever so slightly.

"Well, would you like to stay?" Ayami asked again.

"Sure, if you'll have me." Rin twiddled with Shiro's hand, still held in her own.

Ayami clapped her hands together, her smile never-ending.

"Of course we'll have you, dear, now lets fill that stomach with some good food!"

* * *

Kita sighed as she waved good-bye to Rejime. She was going off to check the village nearby, as she had left them unchecked for so long. Her mother had returned with good news of Rin's health, and now Kita was satisfied that her friend was safe. Her mother had mumbled something about Sesshoumaru's odd behavior, but when prompted had shook her head and smiled, effectively dismissing the conversation. 

Celina, Kita's black mare, snorted and trotted on eagerly through the gate as Kita guided her, the mare knew now where they were headed. Wanting to reach the village as soon as possible, Kita spurred on her mount, nudging Celina into a smooth canter.

About an hour later Kita slowed Celina, leaving the ebony mare to her own devices. She never brought Celina into the actual village, knowing the mare would get overexcited from all the commotion. Walking the next half mile to her beloved village, Kita hummed a soft tune to herself.

When she reached the huts and houses, she smiled to see that everything appeared to be in good condition, and chuckled as two energetic children ran up to her.

"Shino! Akiro! It's been a while!" She laughed as they tackled her, hugging her legs.

They began speaking excitedly at once, and Kita chuckled, making hand motions to signal for them to be quiet. "One at a time, one at a time!"

Shino began first. "We have a visitor!"

"Oh?"

He nodded. "She came yesterday, Lady Kita, her name is Rin! You should check her out, she seems sad." He pouted to mimic Rin's emotions, and Kita's eyes widened. Rin? What was Rin doing in a human village? Rin hated most humans!

"Will you bring me to her?" Kita asked, her eyes still wide.

"Of course!" The polite young boy nodded enthusiastically, and led her in the direction of his house, Akiro right beside him.

Kita entered the house, and was led by Shino to one of the guestrooms. Sure enough, inside was her black haired friend, staring down at a small silver comb. Rin was startled by the footsteps and looked up, gasping immediately at the sight of Kita.

"Rin!" Kita exclaimed, rushing up to her friend, who had tear stained cheeks (seemingly a usual thing in the past few days for the raven haired girl).

"Kita!" Rin gasped as her breath was knocked out by her friend's not so gentle hug, and she laughed, hugging the blonde back happily, a true smile coming to her features for once in a long time. She fought back the tears for as long as she could, but finally she broke down.

"Rin? Rin, tell me what's wrong!" Kita's worried voice broke the awkward silence as she nodded to Shino, silently thanking him and telling him to leave at the same time. He nodded and closed the door, leading Akiro away as well. Rin sobbed into her friends shoulder, and finally she managed to clear her throat.

"He- he made me l-leave Kita!" She wailed, gripping onto her friend for dear life.

Kita's eyes widened, and she rubbed Rin's back in an attempt to sooth the distraught girl.

"Sesshoumaru?" She asked, her voice surprised. Rin nodded, too pained to speak.

"H-he didn't ev-ven t-tell me w-why!" Rin sobbed again, her shoulders shaking.

Kita frowned and continued to silently soothe her friend, wondering what could have happened to make Sesshoumaru suddenly drop the responsibility of his ward.

* * *

Sesshoumaru growled in frustration as he made yet another mistake on the letter he was writing. He put down his brush and rubbed the bridge of his nose, leaning back. His thoughts, for the hundredth time in one minute, turned to Rin. 

"Curse it all." He sighed finally, getting up and walking from his study.

He found himself now in front of her room, hand reaching out to move the sliding door. Her scent was still strong here, as if she was laying inside right now, and giving into temptation, he went in. Moving over to the small bed table, he picked up a paper. It had a poem, one from her childhood that she had written of him. How she would never leave him. It said clearly in front of him that she never wanted to leave his side. Now, it hit him, just what he had done. He had taken a fragile life, and torn it apart. Just because of his selfish need to be strong! Cursing himself now, he tore apart the poem, shreds falling to his feet. A silent snarl plastered onto his countenance he left her room in a storming mood, grabbing something off of her door as he left. He looked at it, although he knew already what it was, and sighed, stopping. It was a flower, a rare one that Rin had found on their travels. She had shown him, and had been so proud of her find that she had vowed to take it home and press it, so she could keep it forever. He closed his eyes, and put the dried flower into his sleeve. He couldn't stand it any more. If he had been weak with Rin, he was even weaker without her. It was time to retrieve his ward.

* * *

Av evil cackle sounded from the depths of the dark room, and a single light was lit, shining onto the most hated face in Japan. Naraku. He wore a satisfied face as Kanna stood before him, her mirror echoing the picture of a sobbing raven haired girl, then on to a frustrated taiyoukai. 

"Good, it worked." He smirked, taking the mirror from the small child demon and fingering the edges as he peered into both pictures, before they flickered and died.

"I have been waiting a long time to get under Sesshoumaru's skin again, and now, when he goes to retrieve his little girl, I will be waiting for him." His smirk grew wider, as he added mentally, 'And I'll get Saramaru's little child in the process. How fortunate.' He handed the mirror back to Kanna, who bowed and left the room.

"Kagura." A woman in a red and white kimono appeared from the shadows, and knelt before him, red eyes blazing defiantly although she made no act against him.

"Wipe that look off of your face and keep an eye on Rin. I don't want our mouse getting away before the cat arrives. Or should I say the dog." He didn't even bother to smirk at his own joke, merely waved his hand to send her on her way. As she nodded grudgingly and left the room, his smirk returned, and he let out another cackle.

* * *

Rin shivered as she watched Kita leave. The miko had been sorry to leave her friend behind, but she knew Rin would be safe in the village. She waved as Kita turned Celina away and nudged the mare into a canter, then turned around and walked back to the village. She had cried a long time on Kita's shoulder, had told her everything, then they had gone out to just play in a field of flowers nearby like they used to. 

She walked back to the village, shivers constantly sent down her spine. It was as if someone was watching her! Suspicious, she turned around, earthen eyes taking in her surroundings. It wasn't unusually quiet, birds were singing, everything was in place, and there was no stalker to be found. She sighed, scolded herself for being so suspicious, and turned she skipped back to the village, hoping a bit of exercise would get her mind off of everything.

* * *

Though young Rin may have been fooled, as Kagura watched her skip away, she flipped out her feather, and followed stealthily in the sky. Did humans rely on only one glance? If Rin was to look now, Kagura surely would have been found out. Naïve humans, so trusting of everything. Of course the birds would not mind her, she was the wind that lifted their wings and gave them aid in flight. How could they not allow her safe passage among them? Her eyes widened however, when a familiar scent came into the air. 

'Naraku, things are going a bit faster than planned.'

'Yes, Kagura. Good job.' Kagura rolled her eyes at this, all it meant was that she was going to be allowed to live another day. She changed course, off to the castle for her next stupid mission.

* * *

Sesshoumaru watched the clouds pass, silver bangs flying around his golden eyes. He was confused, more than ever. He had sent her away for them both, that plan had backfired. Now he was going to get her back. What if she didn't want him back? What if some 'handsome' (he grimaced, how could a human man be handsome?) man had taken her interest? What if he had ruined her mind? That would be just what that sorcerer had wanted, wouldn't it? He felt eyes resting on him, and closed his eyes to keep calm. He was just… over analyzing. Jaken's eyes were always on him now, as if silently asking him why he did it. Why he sent Rin away. Of course, we all know that… Except for the dense little imp. If Sesshoumaru was over analyzing, Jaken was opposite that factor. It was impossible for the old toad to think that far. 

Fully realizing the time he spent in his own thoughts, Sesshoumaru twitched a fraction of an inch as they landed, hopping off of Ah-Un lithely. Human stench everywhere, so much different from Rin's sweet scent masked his senses and he took a moment to define the differences and adapt. Now perfectly focused, his eyes narrowed. Not only human stench… Hanyou stench. Miasma as well, farther away then the human stench, not yet at the human village.

"Jaken, hurry." He stated simply before darting off to the human village. Rin was there, and he would not let Naraku get her, not because of his own insecurities for his own power! If he had kept her at arms length he would not have to be worrying so of this!

It took mere moments to reach the village, and not much longer to locate Rin's scent. He stopped, and a few of the villagers looked at him oddly, before turning to their work. He raised an eyebrow as some children even acted as f they recognized him, waving and smiling. He shook it off and ran to the largest building, the one that resonated with Rin's scent.

Impulse and instinct caused him to stop, however. Something was not right. The headman's house should be bustling with human maids and wenches, a few children. Instead, it was as if the house were dead, nothing moved, nothing breathed. Going in further, his footsteps silent, he looked into the first room, eyes quickly scanning it. Empty.

After about five repetitions of such happenings, something changed. He turned around, and came face to face with what seemed to be a white ghost. The stupidest thing he could have done. Dead. He didn't check the corner when he entered the last room. The mirror in the girls small arms flashed, and his soul left him, his image appearing in the mirror as his golden eyes lost their sparkle.

"Good, Kanna. Now let's find that girl." The deadly voice resonated from the very walls, and the demon girl nodded, no smile showing her happiness with her accomplishment.

* * *

Rin skipped along, almost there. Finally, a group of children appeared before her, all mumbling about a demon. 

"I think that it is the lady who saved us from harm." One declared, puffing out her small chest to think that SHE had seen the demon first hand.

"But it was a man!" The other argued, poking the small girls chest back in.

'Demon?' Rin thought, walking past the bickering kids. 'Lord Sesshoumaru…' No. That was far beyond her wildest dreams, he would not reconsider. He did not change his mind. Each decision had a reason.

She entered the house, eyebrow raised to find it so silent. Since when had it been made public nap time? She went through the house, calling out names. Reached the last room, she jogged in, yelling Shiro's name. They would gather sometimes when he insisted on telling stories. But no one was there. She turned around, and screamed as suddenly there was emptiness, and dark.

"It was too easy." Kanna whispered, black eyes glaring at her mirror. She had expected some sort of challenge.

"All done."

* * *

"Rejime." Kita poked the black scales, gaining her mates attention. They had gone out to relax, and he had proposed to fly her around the eastern lands, a nice little sight seeing trip. Rejime's dragon eye looked up to Kita, though he could not see her. 

'What?' He asked curiously.

'Don't you sense it?' Kita asked.

'What?' He repeated. That was a no.

Kita sighed. 'The evil aura, it's coming from down there.' She pointed, in his eye's range, down to the village below his massive shape, some thousand feet below to be exact.

'Well, now that you mention it, a little…' He said, going lower. 'More so now.' His large horned head nodded a bit.

'We should tell mother.'

'Why? We could just go take a look ourselves. We injured Naraku too much that last time, he wouldn't be so stupid to attempt anything while he could still be injured, so it cant be too powerful a foe.'

Kita shook her head disapprovingly, though he wouldn't be able to see it.

'We're telling Saramaru, now.' She said, poking his head roughly for emphasis. Rejime rolled his black eyes, and dipping his wings, made a u-turn, massive form taking the fast air currents to the Eastern Palace.

* * *

Pheonix: Again, a bit short to my liking, and not terribly suspenseful, but its one of those 'fill in the gaps' chapters. Updates might be few and far between now, because school is hard and I'm pretty much only allowed on in the weekends. (Add horseback riding, projects, and friends, and that's kinda hard!) So please R&R and it might motivate me to tell my friends that my computer is more important than them! 

Saramaru: The way you act, it is.

Pheonix: Don't make my friends hate me before my time, please. -

Saramaru: They'll find out! I SWEAR IT THEY'LL FIND OUT!

Pheonix: (Grabs duck tape) Oh no they wont…


	4. Evil

It wont let me do the ruler! So you'll simply have to figure out which scene it is by PAYING ATTENTION. A lot to ask, but don't worry about that... Just read and review haha.

Pheonix: Alright, a review I got just the 12th inspired me to continue on with the story, as I have much more muse now than I did before for it.

Here is my reply to your reviews:

Icygirl2 – Well, my excuse is that he was worried over Rin so much that he became careless. Don't worry, he'll get his revenge

Cyclonegal12 – Well, you must know by now that I try to entertain myself while writing this, a little yelling from Sesshy never hurt And Naraku, well… I've never done Naraku before now, so leave me alone! (tear) lol I'll try better.

Zuko'sfirebendingirl – Where'd you get your name? o.o lol it is hard, apparently.

Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer – I don't own Inuyasha. Don't cry for me. No really, please don't.

And tea flew into the air as Saramaru gaped, astonished, at her daughter and her son in law.

"So soon after the last appearance? And he left Rin in a human village?" Kita had left that part out since her last visit to the village, feeling it better not to tell anyone. But now she was not so sure. By now, the rest of the group was in the sitting room with them, and Saramaru listened to murmurings of agreement.

"Yes, mother, Rejime and I sensed it while flying over the village. Naraku or his reincarnations are definitely there… And Rin is definitely there as well." She looked down, biting her lip. Was Rin ok?

Saramaru fought to get a grip on the situation, and finally her golden gaze hardened with determination.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to the village." She got up, and motioned for everyone else to do the same.

Kagome hesitated.

"But what if it's a trap?" She pointed out, earthen eyes determined. "He's tried this before; we can't fall into it again!"

Saramaru's eyes softened. "If it IS a trap, Kagome, then Rin will have fallen into it already. We cannot let her be taken just because we were afraid to act upon a little woe."

'And if Sesshoumaru is there, he may be chosen prey as well.' She added to herself, worry for her cousin washing over her. She was the eldest cousin, wasn't she supposed ot keep things in order!

"Oh kami, hurry up!" She growled finally, as the whole group was staring at her. The sorceress turned with a flourish and stalked out the door, waiting for the others.

Everyone followed quickly, determined expressions on their faces, and stood beside Saramaru. A blue orb of energy surrounded them, and in no time they were flying past trees, on to the village only moments away.

When they arrived at the village, everything held an eerie silence to it. The blue orb dissipated, leaving the group standing in what appeared to be a desolate, abandoned village. Kita let out a small gasp, and Rejime squeezed her hand, silently pleading for silence. Kagome shrunk away from the scene, turning for a moment to catch her bearing before glancing at Inuyasha. The hanyou had a rather determined look on his face, golden eyes hardened into stone. If looks could kill, they wouldn't have very many enemies.

Sango's voice cut through the air, a quiet murmur. "What happened?"

Inuyasha's answer was immediate. "What the hell do you think happened? Naraku comes in, kills everyone, hides their bodies and takes over the place to make a new home. We must have just come in at a perfect time to evade his barrier." Oh how wrong the hanyou was.

Saramaru shot him a glance. "Think before you speak, Inuyasha. Naraku still has his own castle, a human village would be of no use to him. He wanted Rin, and Sesshoumaru wasn't there to stop him this time. In fact, I'd be willing to bet anything that Sesshoumaru is already here, looking for her." Saramaru seemed to be just a little more on the ball.

The headman's house, Saramaru noticed, held a faint smell of Rin, and she quickly stalked inside. Sesshoumaru? His smell haunted her nose, causing her to look back to see if Inuyasha had also noticed the smell. Inuyasha nodded silently, and she turned and walked forward. She opened door after door, five doors in sequence, before stopping at the end of the hall. Sesshoumaru had not walked out of this room yet, his scent told her that much of it. And Rin's smell was in here too… Along with Kanna's.

"Be careful, if anything happens, it happens now." She warned, and opened the door. First thing she did was check the corners, and she fought a surprised gasp. There was Sesshoumaru's body, eyes open and empty, crumpled against a wall. She heard Inuyasha grunt, not being able to discern if it was happy or confused, and she quickly glanced to the other corner. She raised a hand in reflex as Kanna's mirror flashed, and the reflecting was stopped by Saramaru's own magic mirror, reflecting Kanna's soul stealing back at her. Normally, if Kanna had had a soul, she would have fallen, but instead she merely turned her mirror and rubbed it against her chest a moment, as if to relieve it from the dust.

Everybody had turned to face Kanna by now, and Inuyasha growled. "Where's Rin?" Kanna glanced at him, completely uninterested, and turned her mirror towards him. He shielded his eyes, but finally looked when he realized his soul was still intact. Looking into the mirror, he saw Rin's face, scared and tear stained, inside the mirror, before Naraku's appeared a moment. Sesshoumaru had obviously met the same fate as Rin, then, Inuyasha concluded, but neglected to be shown in the mirror.

"Why don't you come out and show yourself, Naraku, you faceless coward!" Inuyasha snarled angrily, unsheathing Tetsusaiga. Saramaru shook her head, "Inuyasha, silence." The hanyou quieted, and Saramaru touched her hand to the wall.

"Sesshoumaru came in, looking for Rin. He was worried," She frowned as she recalled the happenings inside the walls of the house, "and didn't think to check the corner as we had. His soul was captured in the mirror, and not too long afterwards Rin walked much the same way into the trap set for her. Kagura came and took her body away." She allowed her hand to fall, and looked to Kanna.

"You are the weakest of Naraku's reincarnations, as far as I am concerned. He must have sent you here because he no longer has use for you. And neither do I." She raised her hand, and eyes narrowed in concentration, ripped the mirror from Kanna's hands with her magic. Kanna made no sound, merely opened her eyes slightly wider. Inuyasha charged at the demon with his Tetsusaiga, but Kanna disappeared before he reached her.

"Where'd she go!" He growled. Miroku frowned.

"Back to Naraku." He offered the simple, obvious answer to Inuyasha, who ground his teeth together and looked to Saramaru.

"Kanna can't fly, you dimwit, remember that Sorcerer that put Rin into a coma? This is his doing." She could see it all now. "He put a spell on Sesshoumaru when they first met, one to distract him and make him do all these crazy things. He must have, anyways. Sesshoumaru wouldn't have noticed it if carefully placed, and would have left it as a weak attempt to use magic. Then, of course, he (the sorcerer from before) must have placed this portal here for Kanna to use. Most of this has been planned, using doubt and reactions that can be foreseen judging their characters. It's obvious that if Sesshoumaru doubted enough, he would send Rin away because he desires power and the spell enforced upon him that Rin is weakness. So then Rin would come here, and Sesshoumaru would follow soon after, realizing his mistake. It's all been planned, and now we can only do our best to stop it. I can't bring Rin back without her body, no matter how hard I try, and Sesshoumaru's not going to come back unless he knows Rin is coming too. We have to get Rin's body." The group looked dumbfounded, and Saramaru stepped to the place where Kanna was moments before.

"Hurry, the barrier is weakening." She urged, and everyone grabbed her shoulders; Kita grimacing and grabbing Sesshoumaru's cold shoulder right before the transportation, taking him with her.

The room spun, and suddenly they were in a much darker field, Inuyasha's nose twitching attentively.

"What is this?" Saramaru's mouth turned grimly as Sango asked the question, not yet sure herself.

"It has the smell of Kanna and that fool sorcerer…" Inuyasha muttered, and Saramaru rolled her eyes. "I have a nose, now hush, all of you, please let me think!" At this polite but barking tone everyone fell silent, Inuyasha scrunching up his nose with distaste but allowing himself to calm.

A chuckle and a small glow, and Naraku was before them suddenly, Saramaru's snarls coming as an immediate reaction to his appearance.

"Naraku," Everyone seemed in chorus, their hissing voices and angry tones enough to make anyone except the one standing before them shiver.

"Good day, night, to you too." He smirked, and more light brought the illusion of a field crashing down, making Saramaru hiss with frustration. Naraku had to have powerful magic on his side to hide such a trick from her heightened magical sense, she was sure of it!

Rejime, however, was snarling at something else, and Saramaru followed his gaze and gasped. A dragon! A magnificently large white beast stood beside the castle entrance, a small girl, a doll in his large talons, grasped roughly between fingers strong as steel. The bloody jeer of sharp teeth, red stained, made Saramaru's heart jump, as she saw the dragon's mouth near to Rin's limp lifeless body, and sniff as if she were a delicious delicacy.

But what made Saramaru seethe most was the immense magical aura, matching her own, emanating off of the creature, or demon, whichever he was.

"Isidris!" Rejime's quavering voice was awe struck, humiliated, angry, all at the same time. "Our prophet, our trusted god…" His voice was shaking, and Kita released Sesshoumaru's shoulder to grab his reassuringly.

"Isidris?" Saramaru shivered at the golden eyes, so like her own, except with deep purple irises instead of black, so unusual… The dragons had sterling silver claws, which were indeed surrounding the young body they had been searching for.

Naraku resisted the urge to hurry along their thinking process, were they so slow? None of them had even said aloud 'It's a trap!' yet! Did they WANT to take away his fun? But no, he was having too much fun to have it taken away. His smirk didn't even fade as he waited.

Saramaru, Sango, Kagome, and Miroku were the most on the ball, and said in unison, looking at each other, "Trap."

Snorting, Inuyasha rolled his eyes at Naraku. "What more could we expect? What are the terms this time, you filthy bastard."

Smirking, Naraku obliged greedily, quickly laying out the terms of service.

"In order to have supreme conquest," At this Inuyasha had already gripped his Tetsusaiga with a more powerful fist, "I need one sword brought back from the dead so to speak. "Sounga." Kagome gulped, shuddering, remembering Sounga's powerful, but short lived, reign, if it could be called that.

"Isidris has so gracefully accepted my quest; Rin is my leverage." Naraku hadn't needed to say that, the look on his face and the appearance of the situation should have stated that clearly, but seeing as they had been so slow to declare the trap foolhardy, he had felt that a bit of explaining would be good.

"You will travel for me, to find the sword and find a way to bring it back, in exchange for Rin's life." Saramaru's eyes narrowed.

"And my cousin's life?" Her voice was frustrated, glancing from Rin to Isidris, Naraku, Rin, Isidris, and Naraku.

Naraku chuckled once more. "Spared as well, if you must. As more leverage, your very lives are at risk." Saramaru gasped as a small circle around them began to shine, and she shrieked with sudden, short lived pain as something burnt into her back. She didn't need to look to know that it was a symbol for death, stating the date on which she would die. She could tell from the burn in Inuyasha's fire rat cloth, no matter how powerful the resistance against heat from his clothing, it was no match for Isidris's marking spell. Her shriek was echoed by others.

"When your time runs out, that mark will send powerful magic," Naraku nodded to Isidris, who bowed with a sneer, "Into your innards, your heart, your brain, burning you from the inside out. Don't try it," He snapped at Saramaru, as the sorceress raised her hand, "Do and it will activate immediately." Saramaru allowed her hand to fall with a grudging mumble.

"Do not find the sword for me within six months, and you will all die, including young Rin and Sesshoumaru. They have been, forewarned, of this plan already."

The whole group was somber, Kita still wincing slightly, along with Kagome, at her new brand. Isidris chortled in that dragon way, a hind talon clicking on the ground as he sat like a bear would, perched.

Inuyasha growled defiantly, but with one pleading look from Kita, tears in the girls eyes, he seethed and turned away, a loud humph falling from his throat.

"Good." Naraku nodded to Isidris, whose large talon covered fist glowed a deep maroon as Rin came to, sputtering and sobbing in the same instant her lord's name. "Sesshoumaru!" Saramaru looked behind her and noticed the lord's eyes fluttering open. Sesshoumaru wasted no time in standing as Rin's voice hit his ears, and nonchalantly, but with a certain sense of hurry, he went to her, Isidris dropping her carelessly into the demon's awaiting arm. Sesshoumaru helped Rin to stand, only to be smothered by the small body sobbing tearfully into his chest, screaming at him and hitting him with fists for deserting her, and yet at the same time telling him how she had missed him, how much she had wanted to see him, how she had cried, as she was doing now.

Saramaru and Inuyasha turned away. "Sesshoumaru, go back to the western lands WITH your charge, and recoup. I'll see you in seven days." The large group waved goodbye, Saramaru silently noting that Isidris had spread his leathery wings and flown away, and Naraku was gone, his castle slowly fading as the devious hanyou moved to a new location. He had they're lives in his hands, but he was still worried for his safety.

This gave Saramaru hope, but not much.

Okay, so cliffy, and pretty short chapter, shortest yet? But I figured I might as well throw a not so heart breaking, but intriguing, cliffy in here and post it up while I go right on to the next chapter.

I don't have my aim working, my email works on one computer when it feels the energy to open up my mail for me, all I have is internet access. But I'm going to try to spend plenty of computer time doing this story, so I won't be on myspace or anything similar…

Please R&R, I hope you like this story and want to read more of it!


	5. Peace at Home, or Not?

Pheonix: Alright, folks, here we go. Chapter five! Hopefully at least will be 3.8k words… I have no solid plot for this story; it goes as it goes, so send in your ideas!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Warning: If you don't like fluff, get outta here. This chapter is going to be off the wall with whatever comes to mind! HA!

Review replies:

SSRandomness: Hi again! Sorry I didn't reply to your review in the last chapter, I wanted to get it out of the way and post this one :) And I'm loved! Haha

Clear Waters (cyclonegal12): Darling! Yes, I updated. And IM no likey me. But that's ok, lets talk on here! Eh, you know I have a tendancy to do the characters a BIT ooc sometimes, (sweatdrop)

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Saramaru and Inuyasha turned away. "Sesshoumaru, go back to the western lands WITH your charge, and recoup. I'll see you in seven days." The large group waved goodbye, Saramaru silently noting that Isidris had spread his leathery wings and flown away, and Naraku was gone, his castle slowly fading as the devious hanyou moved to a new location. He had they're lives in his hands, but he was still worried for his safety.

This gave Saramaru hope, but not much.

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Sesshoumaru was not tired, his time in that black abyss of a place, wherever it was, had left him feeling restful, though also seeking vengeance. But Naraku's plot did not allow him to fight back; Sesshoumaru and Rin had also been marked similarly.

Sesshoumaru was not tired, but he found Rin clinging to him, tears welling and falling from her large eyes silently as she tended to stumble along the path.

So afraid of losing him. She was so terrified, the thought of letting go of his arm now, the thought of loosening the tight grip her delicate fingers had, made her tears come faster. Here he was, obviously he had come to get her back, but she was haunted. He seemed to take this sudden clinging of hers in silent, if not temporary, acceptance, allowing her to cling, and sometimes passing her glances. She liked to think that glint in his golden eyes was worry.

"Rin, my blood will not flow properly if you continue to grip it so." At his baritone voice she jumped, and switched her hold to the body of his fabric, hand rubbing against his ribs as she nodded silently, bangs sticking slightly to her stained cheeks. She was shivering, the air had a slight bite in the middle of the night, and finally a stone seemed more determined than the rest to fell her. She closed her eyes, waiting for the ground, but felt Sesshoumaru's arm quickly grab her about the waist, stopping her descent feet from the ground.

She broke down now, memories from her time in the nightmarish hell from the fool sorcerer flooding back as her new memories of the black abyss seemed so closely related to the older happening, and her abdomen convulsed with the mental stress of it all.

"No." She sobbed, trying to push back the memories, they had nothing to do with now, but Sesshoumaru's grip adjusted so that he could carry her as she was now physically incapable.

Without any moisture in her body to cry with, she merely trembled, convulsed, choked on her own throat, and mumbled incoherent babble to herself, her distress so great that she dared not open her eyes. She buried her face into Sesshoumaru's chest, finally allowing her body to relax as his comforting presence surrounded her, shoulder muscles loosening as she took deep breathes, and effort to calm herself.

Sesshoumaru looking down at Rin, knowing that this was his fault, if he had kept her close, if he had kept the other half of his heart where it belonged…No more ifs. He set his jaw and felt her chest rising slow as she fell into sleep, he could feel the exhaustion in the way her ribcage made a little tremor with each muscle movement.

"Rin… My Rin, what have I done?" She mumbled something, and listening, he grimaced. "Hurts… Hurts here" She was rubbing her chest, the area above her heart. As he reached his castle, he looked up at the gates leading to the courtyard, and sighed. Jaken's face had just disappeared from the window, and he was sure that the little imp would be in front of him any-

"Milord!" -Moment. Jaken was running towards them, the staff of two heads waving wildly in the air.

"Where have you been? And what has happened to Rin!" Jaken questioned brutally as Sesshoumaru walked past him.

"Jaken, leave me be." Sesshoumaru ordered, not sparing the worried toad a glance. Rin's eyes fluttered open, and in a sudden panic she gripped Sesshoumaru's shirt (forget what it's called right now XD) but then relaxed.

"I dreamed…" She whispered, gazing into her lords eyes with wonder.

"Tell me of it later." He said softly, walking through the halls, Jaken staring dumbfounded as Sesshoumaru walked to his room, Rin thinking. He certainly wouldn't leave her now! Right?

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Sesshoumaru reached his room, the door slightly open already from when he had left. He opened it farther, using his foot to maneuver the door to widen. Rin squirmed, and obligingly he put her down, shaking his head as she stood unsteady for a moment before walking to sit down on his bed, examining her legs. They were shaking, and slightly scratched up, but all the small scrapes had scabbed over, and the only reason she was trembling was because of her own thoughts. She was here, trembling with happiness at being back… But her back… It stung! She gasped as a bit of fresh pain stabbed at the muscle there, and her hand flew to the small of her back where it was located.

"H-he marked us. We're like p-packaging." She suddenly felt weak again as Sesshoumaru joined her, sitting behind her and lifting his hand to press his palm against the mark he knew was there. She trembled under his touch, which although gentle, was causing pain to her mark. He had forgotten that it would take her wounds much longer than his to heal. Taking his hand away, he got up, silently walking to the small parapet that overlooked Rin's so beloved garden.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, can we go to the garden?" Rin's voice made him turn his head to look at her, and he nodded. She obviously wasn't that tired, knowing her she would have been sleeping on his bed if exhaustion had been the case. But she got up, ignoring the now ebbing pain in her back, and he joined her as she walked to the door, down hallways and through more doors, leading to the small courtyard and following the path silently. Two willows stood like guardians before the entrance to the garden, and Sesshoumaru stopped as Rin walked forward.

Looking back to her lord, she noticed that he was looking at the castle gate, and instead of waiting for him she walked in, despite her quaking fear of being left alone. Her garden had a calming effect, and soon enough she was stroking the leaves of a rhododendron, affectionately inspecting the flowers of the bush before turning to the roses, grinning at their beautiful state of bloom. She closed her eyes and sat back against the small space of bare wall, her usual seat when in the garden to read or write or simply enjoy the scenery. The slightest of rustling and a presence beside her made her open her eyes, looking up to stare at Sesshoumaru, who had closed his eyes and crossed his legs, his knee brushing up against her thigh. She grinned, stretching her legs out slightly before relaxing once more, eyes roaming over the side of his face, from his left eye to his jaw line, the stripes on his cheekbones once more grabbing her attention.

Sesshoumaru was stuck in deeper thoughts…

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(Flashback)

In that black abyss of hell where he was seemingly floating uselessly, he could hear her voice, taunting him with screams of agony. He tried to ignore them, knowing this was only either Naraku's form of torture or his own traitorous imagination. But still he let out a groan, as if in physical pain, seething with anger, eyes flashing dangerously.

She was in his arm, burrowing into his chest, hitting him with delicate, fisted hands, screaming at him and crying.

"You left me!" "I missed you…" "Don't ever leave me, don't… don't…" Her sobbed words making him grip her tighter and glare at the retreating forms of Isidris and Naraku, silently promising himself revenge for this act. Slowly she stopped trying to hit him, instead gripping to him for her life.

(End flashback)

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"I wont." He said simply, practically feeling Rin's roaming eyes turn to stare at his now open eyes questioningly.

"Won't what, Sesshoumaru-sama?" She asked, head tilted slightly.

"I won't leave you again." He replied, though he didn't look at her. Those words were just a little more heartfelt than he was used to his small amount of speech being.

Rin smiled to herself, allowing her mind to rest, not realizing that she had been tense until that tension left her.

"Thank you… For everything." She muttered, resting against his side cautiously at first, then sighing happily. So she was safe now, no matter what mark was on her back, she was safe with her lord.

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"Ow! Do you have to?" Rin's voice trembled with pain as she lay on her stomach in the nurse's wing, wincing as the woman leaned over her back, rubbing something on it.

"Lord Sesshoumaru told me to nurse your wound, and you're badly burnt back here." The nurse answered matter-of-factly, and finally asked Rin to sit up so she could bandage the mark on her back.

Rin smiled as the soft bandages comforted her back, her thoughts no elsewhere.

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She had woken up in the morning, warm despite the chill in the air, surrounded by something soft. When she had looked, she had seen Sesshoumaru's boa wrapped around her, shielding her from the not so welcoming breeze, and had found her pillow to be more of a lap belonging to her lord. She had tensed momentarily, making Sesshoumaru's eyes snap open, wondering why her jaw had clenched.

She had relaxed, turning her head to look up at his cold gaze as he stared down at her, and had smiled widely before greeting him. The mark on her back was twinging, but she ignored it.

"Good morning, Sesshoumaru-sama." This was just like when she had been little, sleeping in the forest to wake up to him looking down on her, protecting her silently, his comforting presence keeping any and all nightmares she may have experienced to a minimum of fright.

"Morning." He moved slightly, signaling that he was getting up, and she sat up from his lap to allow him to do so, not without a slight pout. She stood, handing him his boa back and thanking him. He took it, placing it over his shoulder before looking at her thoughtfully.

"Rin, you should visit Jai, allow her to tend to your wound." His voice woke her up even more, and she nodded, turning and skipping out of her garden, humming happily even though the fabric on her back was rubbing against the offending blemish on her skin.

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She thanked Jai, her nurse since childhood, before walking out from the nurse's wing, going to her room.

Soon, though she was reading a pretty interesting old book, she was bored. Sighing, she looked out her window, which also had a view from the garden, and was almost directly facing Sesshoumaru's parapet, she had always called it his little perch. The round courtyard, which held her beautiful garden, allowed her a nearly perfect view of everything, and looking below her lords perch, she saw him sitting in his study, writing something. No doubt a letter to some faraway land, sealing a truce or merely saying he wasn't going to help them, the usual stuff. As if feeling her eyes on him, he turned his gaze to her, golden eyes studying her for a moment before going back to his scroll, sealing it and handing it to a servant to be delivered wherever. Then, with another look at her, he got up and left her plane of vision, obviously leaving the study.

Her never faltering smile these days, along with her uncanny sense of peace, allowed her to forget that in three days she would be traveling with her lord and his brother and cousin, to find this sword for their deepest enemy.

Out of pure need for travel, she found her feet moving steadily to the door of her lord's study, where he had been moments before. She opened the door and stepped inside, instantly going to his desk. This was where everything interesting was kept, as far as she was concerned.

Opening a particularly large drawer, she gasped. That painting! The one that her lord had not allowed her to see. It was face down, and she picked it up, flipping it over to gaze at it's picturing in shock. Saramaru's magic was a wonder in itself; this image looked as real as if she were standing there.

It was of here, laying in her lords bed, him sitting by her head, his hand gripping her, golden eyes holding a worried glint. As she looked at the painting, she wished that she could see everything that had happened that night, when she had awoken, and gasped, stifling a wondering shriek as the picture faded, changing. Again, she was laying in the bed, but she could see another, larger body behind her, that belonging to her handsome lord, who was sleeping peacefully, holding her close to him. Then, pictures of her sobbing and beating at his chest as he held her close, his jaw clenched as she screamed at him, though she could not hear what she was saying, she already knew.

Next, it depicted him carrying her, his arm holding her securely to him as he took her back to the castle, back to her home.

A tear, not necessarily from sadness as much as strong emotion, welled in her eye and fell, smudging the picture slightly. She wiped it off with a faint smile, bangs almost covering her eyes.

"It shows memories, and also what you want to have most." She gasped, and had to stop herself from dropping the painting as she stuffed it back into the drawer, face up. It was her lord's voice that came from behind her, his breath soft on her neck as he reached over her to push the drawer closed.

"I see now that your curiosity knows no bounds." She was relieved that he did not sound all too angry with her, if anything she told herself, he sounded amused.

"I'm sorry, I should not have been exploring your study so –"

"Thoroughly?" He did not smirk, though the idea was tempting, as he remembered what the picture had shown him. Rin had been walking beside him, his arm around her waist, her head resting against him as the picture seemed to move. It was just them, and Rin had turned her head slightly to tell him something, he turning his head to return the phrase, though a lot quieter than she had done. His facial expression had not changed, but he had seemed to grip her tighter to him.

"Yes…" She nodded, as if to say 'That's it.'

"Why don't you take a bath, Rin, it may help you concentrate on not opening drawers so freely." His tone belayed his amusement, and she nodded in agreement, grinning wildly as she turned past him, skipping out of the study. He sighed, he was glad she had not noticed the painting change when he had looked at it, hadn't seen a picture of them standing in the study, wrapped in each other's arms.

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"That bastard…" Rejime muttered as he looked on, watching the palace nurse tend to Kita's back. Hers had already begun to heal, unlike Kagome's, and though Kita could heal it herself, they were worried that if they tried to mess with the mark at all with magic like that, it might trigger an unwanted reaction.

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Kagome, Sango, and Miroku had all gone to the upper floor after being seen to, to take a bath and calm their nerves slightly. Miroku, of course, was cursing the barrier that stopped him from looking over at the women without his prying eyes being extremely obvious and therefore punished, and he muttered with Inuyasha about how troublesome the thing was. The hanyou snarled warningly, raising an eyebrow.

"If you try to see Sango, that means you'll be looking at Kagome too, monk." He reminded Miroku, who sweat dropped sheepishly.

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When the nurse was finished with Kita, the 16 year old whimpered, grasping onto Rejime. Naraku had done it again, made her feel vulnerable, and now no matter what he had his grip on her, she could not hide from it, she could not hide from the mark on her back, could not hide from the fact that it was on her friend that this curse would also fall.

"Rejime, what hope is there? Sounga is in Hell, Saramaru said so… How are we supposed to go there?" Kita's hopeless voice trembled as Rejime led her to the sitting room, propping himself against a cushion, her in his arms, cradled safely as he pondered her question.

"We have to trust that Saramaru can find a way, that they can all find a way." He felt Kita nod her head, the slightest twitch, and fought the despair in his own chest. All he could picture was Sesshoumaru's blazing eyes, and the anger he had seen there, watching the Taiyoukai carry Rin away. This image only hardened Rejime's resolve.

It made him realize that Rin was no longer a daughter to Sesshoumaru, that she must be something else.

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"What kind of fool are you, Naraku..." Isidris asked himself in a quiet voice, watching the hanyou rebuild himself once more, trying to regain his strength; Isidris watched Naraku from his mental connection all the time. The dragon's thoughts flashed to Saramaru, the anger, frustration, shock, and power in her golden orbs, and he felt a pang of regret. In any other case, Saramaru could have been a powerful ally, a good friend even. But Naraku had trapped him, savagely ripping his own daughter from his careful clutches.

Isidris, a prophet. As Rejime had so accusingly said, he was the guard of the Northern Palace, (I can't currently remember if Rejime's father lives in the North or the South, eh), helping them whenever seen fit… But now, he was Naraku's puppet. The powerful silver dragon had to pretend to enjoy being used, to help Naraku's plan's success, or else his daughter would no doubt die.

Isidris snarled, the sound coming out more of a strangled whining, as if he had a wound to lick that he couldn't reach.

There she was again in his thoughts, Saramaru.

"DAMN YOU NARAKU!" He roared suddenly, compulsively, large talons scraping against the side of the large cave that he knew as her home, sparks flying as large gouges were created in the solid granite, the ground vibrating from the power he held in his voice. Birds left their coven, flying away from the horrible sound, deer fled, even the insects, most who couldn't hear, shied away from the venomous vibrations that shook their world.

He lifted silver wings, leaping fifty feet in the air and easily catching a drift, soaring effortlessly away from his source of pain, the home in which his daughter had lived. He flew towards his own cave now, purple and golden eyes narrowed and a seemingly permanent snarl on his features.

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Kagura winced, she should be running. She could be running, with Isidris in the vicinity Naraku couldn't kill her by using that particular method of squeezing her heart, Isidris's presence close by allowed only white magic to be used, and it just so happened that her heart was controlled by black magic. It still beat, it still gave her life, but it could not be altered until Isidris was out of range… And Naraku was weak, at his weakest now. All it would take would be for her to use her most powerful attack, grab her very own heart, and run. Run away, forever if she must. But instinct kept her obedient, she seemed unable to fight the bind that held her to Naraku no matter how much she knew she wanted to.

The death of Kanna didn't seem to be helping Kagura too much, now she seemed alone. Sure, Naraku had other 'followers', but Kanna and her had shared a sort of sister hood, even if Kanna was so damned quiet and seemingly loyal to Naraku, she had been slightly comforting, in an odd, twisted way. It was as if Kanna had leveled the playing field.

But now, she was alone.

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Saramaru cursed loudly and violently, throwing the useless scroll against the wall.

"How the hell am I supposed to get anything done when my scrolls have nothing to tell me!" True, she had not checked her cousin's scrolls yet, but she decided that could wait until they met in three days. Then, they would travel to Rejime's olds home, and raid his father's library. Maybe even travel to Central and use that library. Saramaru NEEDED to read up on Isidris in Rejime's former palace, as Rejime knew naught but that Isidris was a powerful dragon demon, and had once been a good man, but apparently not now. He knew powerful white magic, that was for sure.

But she needed to know more. Wanted to know more. Wanted to know EVERYTHING.

That made her frown, she shouldn't care. Isidris could be beaten; she knew that, as even she could be beaten. She didn't need to find out how he could be beaten just by reading his life story! But she wanted to read his life story so badly, was so curious, that she scared herself.

It wasn't possible that she liked the traitor, was it?

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Pheonix: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So much done in one day! Sooo happiness. Hope you enjoy, Please R&R!

Saramaru: I don't WANT a boyfriend!

Pheonix: Oh, so that's what you think Isidris is going to be? Or is that what you want him to be. XD

Saramaru: shush. :(


End file.
